Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a fluorescent confocal microscope at Truman State University

杜鲁门州立大学获得一种荧光共聚焦显微镜，以进行尖端的细胞和发育生物学研究。杜鲁门大学位于密苏里州的柯克斯维尔，是一所以本科为主的大学，也是该州唯一一所公立文科和理科大学。教师使用创新的教学策略和高影响力的研究经验，培养学生的批判性思维和分析能力，他们需要在他们的职业生涯和社区取得成功。荧光共聚焦显微镜是细胞和发育生物学的重要工具，因为它能够通过厚的，有时是活的标本快速提供光学切片。该仪器的研究和教学将培养数百名共聚焦显微镜专业的学生，广泛适用于生物学、化学、生物化学与分子生物学、健康与运动科学、护理学等专业的本科生。通过杜鲁门现有的项目，当地K-12教育工作者和学生也将有机会学习和使用荧光共聚焦显微镜，提高对这种强大仪器的认识。来自附近机构的其他用户将促进进一步的合作，并为杜鲁门州立大学对密苏里州东北部和整个州的文科和理科产生积极影响做出贡献。进行这项研究的教员使用五种不同的模式生物来研究控制动物发育、呼吸功能和植物：细菌相互作用的基本细胞和分子机制。具体来说，这个项目将确定两个基因在蛔虫发育胚胎中的作用，帮助我们理解果蝇的神经连接，允许详细分析大脑如何控制老鼠的呼吸，确定细菌如何与三叶草类植物形成有益的关系，以及杀虫剂如何影响苜蓿根上有益细菌的生长。通过荧光共聚焦显微镜获得的高度详细的图像将使学生和教师能够进一步展示和研究文章，并推进科学知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An award is made to Truman State University to acquire a fluorescent confocal microscope to enable cutting-edge cell and developmental biology research. Located in Kirksville, Missouri, Truman is a predominantly undergraduate institution and the state’s only public liberal arts and sciences university. Faculty use innovative teaching strategies and high-impact research experiences to train students in the critical thinking and analytical skills they will need to be successful in their careers and communities. Fluorescent confocal microscopy is an essential tool in cell and developmental biology due to its ability to quickly provide optical sections through thick, sometimes living, specimens. The research and teaching using this instrument will train hundreds of students in confocal microscopy, broadly reaching undergraduates majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Health and Exercise Science, and Nursing. Through existing programs at Truman, local K-12 educators and students will also be given the opportunity to learn about and use fluorescent confocal microscopy, increasing the awareness of this powerful instrument. Additional users from a nearby institution will promote further collaborations and contribute to Truman State University’s positive impact on northeast Missouri and the liberal arts and sciences throughout the state. The faculty members conducting this research use five different model organisms to study fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms governing animal development, respiratory function, and plant:bacteria interactions. Specifically, this project will determine the roles of two genes in the developing embryos of a roundworm, aid in our understanding of the nerve connections in fruit flies, allow a detailed analysis of how the brain controls breathing in rats, determine how bacteria form beneficial relationships with a clover-like plant, and how pesticides affect the growth of beneficial bacteria on alfalfa roots. The highly detailed images obtained by the fluorescent confocal microscope will enable further presentations and research articles by students and faculty and advance scientific knowledge.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.